Afghan air force 2nd Lt. Niloofar Rhmani walks the flight line at Shindand Air Base, Afghanistan, prior to her graduation from undergraduate pilot training, on May 13, 2013. Rhmani made history on May 14, when she became the first female to successfully complete undergraduate pilot training and earn the status of pilot in more than 30 years. She will continue her service as she joins the Kabul Air Wing as a Cessna 208 pilot. (Photo by Senior Airman Scott Saldukas/USAF)

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

(L-R) Edmea Pereira, 69, Elsa Rodrigues, 61, and Osmidio Conde, 71, take part in their surf class in Santos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, March 16, 2016. When work is up, surf is up in Brazil, as a group of retired citizens take to the waves in keep-fit, keep-young sessions at a surf school in the city of Santos. The classes are run for free, three times a week at the Cisco Arana school, which aims to prove that age is just a number. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A humanoid robot named Kansei, meaning “sensibility” in Japanese, makes a facial expression depicting “happiness”, next to the word “Love” during a demonstration at a laboratory of Meiji University's Robot and Science Institute in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo in this June 4, 2007 file photo. Three-fourths of robot installations over the next decade are expected to be concentrated in four areas: transportation equipment, including the automotive sector; computer and electronic products; electrical equipment and machinery. Labor costs have climbed in countries such as China that have been popular for outsourcing production, while technological advances for robots allow them to be more flexible and perform more tasks. (Photo by Yuriko Nakao/Reuters)

A riot policeman fires into the air during clashes with opposition supporters at a rally demanding a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, May 11, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

In this January 24, 2017 photo, boxer Idamerys Moreno wraps a bandage on her hand before a training session at a sports center in Havana, Cuba. Boxing has long been an athletic engine for Cuba, which has won 72 Olympic medals in that category but women are not allowed to box. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

“Sociomobile” by Jasleen Kaur goes on view as part of the 2024 Turner Prize exhibition at TATE Britain on September 24, 2024 in London, England. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Turner Prize, and it returns to Tate Britain for the first time since 2018. The prestigious award is presented annually to a British artist who has delivered an exceptional exhibition or presentation of their work. The four artists shortlisted for the 2024 Turner Prize are Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson, Jasleen Kaur, and Delaine Le Bas. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

A woman rides a mechanical bull while tailgating before a college football game between the Arizona Wildcats and West Virginia Mountaineers at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona on October 26, 2024. (Photo by Ernesto Benavides/AFP Photo)